H.B. No. 2340

	AN ACT
	relating to the qualifications, communications, and recordkeeping
	of a child custody evaluator and the admissibility of a child
	custody evaluation under certain circumstances.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 107.104(a), Family Code, is amended by
	adding Subdivisions (3) and (4) to read as follows:
	(3)  "Developmental disability" has the meaning
	assigned by Section 614.001, Health and Safety Code.
	(4)  "Intellectual disability" has the meaning
	assigned by Section 591.003, Health and Safety Code.
	SECTION 2.  Section 107.104, Family Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
	(f)  In addition to the qualifications prescribed by this
	section, to be qualified to conduct a child custody evaluation
	under this subchapter, an individual must complete, during the
	two-year period preceding the evaluation, at least three hours of
	initial or continuing training, as applicable, related to the care
	of a child with an intellectual disability or developmental
	disability, including education, therapy, preparation for
	independent living, or methods for addressing physical or mental
	health challenges.
	SECTION 3.  Section 107.112, Family Code, is amended by
	amending Subsections (c), (d), and (f) and adding Subsection (i) to
	read as follows:
	(c)  Except for records obtained from the department in
	accordance with Section 107.111 or from an entity described by
	Section 107.1111(a) in accordance with Section 107.1111, a private
	child custody evaluator shall, after completion of an evaluation
	and the [preparation and] filing of a notice [child custody
	evaluation report] under Section 107.113(b) [107.113], make
	available in a reasonable time the evaluator's records relating to
	the evaluation on the written request of an attorney for a party, a
	party who does not have an attorney, and any person appointed under
	this chapter in the suit in which the evaluator conducted the
	evaluation, unless a court has issued an order restricting
	disclosure of the records.
	(d)  Subject to Subsection (b-1) and except for records
	obtained from the department in accordance with Section 107.111 or
	from an entity described by Section 107.1111(a) in accordance with
	Section 107.1111, records relating to a child custody evaluation
	conducted by an employee of or contractor with a domestic relations
	office shall, after completion of the evaluation and the
	[preparation and] filing of a notice [child custody evaluation
	report] under Section 107.113(b) [107.113], be made available
	according to the local rules and policies of the office on written
	request of an attorney for a party, a party who does not have an
	attorney, and any person appointed under this chapter in the suit in
	which the evaluator conducted the evaluation, unless a court has
	issued an order restricting disclosure of the records [according to
	the local rules and policies of the office].
	(f)  A private child custody evaluator shall retain all
	records relating to a child custody evaluation conducted by the
	evaluator until the ending date of the retention period adopted by
	the licensing authority that issues the professional license held
	by the evaluator based on the date the evaluator filed the notice
	under Section 107.113(b) [child custody evaluation report prepared
	under this section] with the court.
	(i)  A child custody evaluator shall redact any social
	security number or child's birth date from records subject to
	disclosure under this section before making the records available.
	SECTION 4.  Section 107.114, Family Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
	(a-1)  Unless the child custody evaluator is appointed under
	Section 107.106, the court may not admit into evidence a child
	custody evaluation report prepared under Section 107.113 if:
	(1)  the child who is the subject of the report has an
	intellectual disability or developmental disability; and
	(2)  on the date the evaluation that is the subject of
	the report was made, the child custody evaluator had not satisfied
	the training requirement under Section 107.104(f).
	SECTION 5.  Sections 107.104(f) and 107.114(a-1), Family
	Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a child custody evaluation
	that is conducted by a child custody evaluator appointed by a court
	on or after January 1, 2026. A child custody evaluation conducted by
	a child custody evaluator appointed by a court before January 1,
	2026, is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
	effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
	effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 6.  Sections 107.112(c) and (d), Family Code, as
	amended by this Act, and Section 107.112(i), Family Code, as added
	by this Act, apply to a disclosure of information made on or after
	the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 7.  Section 107.112(f), Family Code, as amended by
	this Act, applies to all records in the possession of a child
	custody evaluator on or after the effective date of this Act,
	regardless of whether the records were created before, on, or after
	that date.
	SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2340 was passed by the House on April
	30, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 140, Nays 0, 1 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2340 was passed by the Senate on May
	21, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays 1.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor